about these projects
I’ve realized what brings me the most joy.
While, yes, I love any sort of art, photography, and writing, the common thread of the projects that bring me the most joy, the ones I will stay up late for, catch a 4am flight for, spend 12 hours editing, even without pay—the common denominator is human connection.
Candid Hands
Candid Hands was my first series. It evolved organically. I began paying attention to what I noticed, and I was noticing the way people naturally engaged the world with their hands. They danced, they expressed joy, they spoke, they cried. Hands often communicate nearly as much as words, and while words connect us in a verbal and intangible way, hands can connect us in a very physical and tangible way. The heavy, grainy black and white images bring forward a depth of emotion to the movements. When I take a photo, my job is to capture what I see; when I edit, my job is to communicate what I see. This project was the first step.
My Life Uncurated
This project existed over a week in 2016. I love that I still have that week vividly in my memory through these photos. I hoped the project would take off and more people would join, but having the expense and tangibility of the disposable cameras made it complicated, so it never grew beyond us. But I think that’s okay. It’s still meaningful, even if it’s small. I think that’s the whole point of it, really: remembering even in the smallness. I’ve numbered each image, by date and then by order and while I haven’t included every single image from those days in the gallery, I did select a few from each day, not prioritizing beauty or adventure, but rather the honesty of the days.
When I began the project, this is what I wrote about it:
My friend Meanz and I launched a project (yet to be titled) with disposable cameras. We began by each shooting through a 27-image Fujifilm camera a day for a week. All uncharted. One self-portrait a day. What began as a fun creative outlet actually ended with some unexpected thoughts tumbling around in my head. I didn’t think something as simple as carrying around a disposable camera would prompt me to think so differently about my life, but it has.
The photos are sorted by day, chronologically. When I began I thought it would give folks a look at what my life uncharted would look like. Not the highlights I post online. The real pieces.
The boring mornings. The slow afternoons. My lunch breaks. My friends. My evenings. Real life. All of those moments are just as important as the concerts and the roadtrips. In all of those moments, I'm still alive. I need to remind myself of the worthiness of the slow days. These are my real days, sorted by date. I hope you find the beauty in your slow days, too.
More thoughts on what I’m learning. But for now, here is: My Life Uncurated.
WESTPORT
Over the course of a couple years, I traveled to Kansas City to work with a Hutchinson, Kansas-based band, developing their visuals and brand. I created promotional images, live images, and a music video for their song about Kansas City. We used multiple cameras, recording sound and video, and I directed and edited the entire project.
Harry Styles Fan Fashion
My third series was a group of fan portraits, centered around the fashion and community of Harry Styles tour. Through working in the music industry for a decade, I’d discovered that I enjoyed documenting fans outside of venues, chatting with them about their signs and outfits and snacks. Additionally, some of my favorite types of images are street style photos. This series intentionally combines the relational aspect of the music industry fanbase—especially fan girls—with this type of street style photography. Some images are posed, some candid, but all taken on-location in Chicago and New York prior to Harry Styles shows.
Eras Tour Fan Fashion
When Taylor Swift launched her Eras Tour, I quickly noticed that large publications (or really small publications—or really anyone) were not documenting the fans and community around the tour. Sure, they’d cover one night with a couple of (often iPhone) photos, but I knew that these shows, this now-intentional phenomenon, was worthy of being remembered in a much more comprehensive way. Over the course of the spring and summer, I self-funded trips to Tampa, Nashville, Detroit, Denver, and Los Angeles, chronically fans in each city. I took overnight buses, early morning flights, and walked up to 10 miles each day. However, each night I went to bed feeling joyful and fulfilled and each morning, regardless of lack of sleep, I excitedly prepared my camera for another afternoon of portraits. These people, these stories, the way the songs have connected people and formed community—it’s worthy of being remembered. These are the sorts of story I’ll spend my whole life telling.
In conclusion
Beyond human connection, each of these projects is something meaningful and lasting to me, whether or not it is appreciated beyond myself. In that, I think that makes them my most important work. They’re not contrived for a paycheck or engagement or to please anyone else. They’re honest, they’re my ideas, my heart, my dreams, all in photos. Of course, my desire is also that the subjects feel beautiful and valued, and that, ideally, people beyond my immediate scope of reach are prompted to feel something. But I cannot control that, and I think my therapist would be proud of that realization. All I can control is how I treat people, hwo I connect with them, what I create, and that I keep doing it honestly and with kindness. Thank you for being here.